What makes Mount Rainier particularly unique, from a geographical
perspective, is the 36 miles of glaciers covering the mountain.
This
collection of ice is the largest remnant of the Ice Age to be found on one
mountain (a "single-peak glacier system") in the world. Glaciers are formed
from snow that does not melt from year to year. Instead it accumulates to
such depths that air is pressed out and the snow is compressed to ice. The
ice gradually moves down the mountainside under the force of gravity.

The glacial valleys, sometimes gouging over thousand feet into the sides
of Rainier, visually accentuate the height of the mountain. Drainage from
the volcano manages to find its way into five major rivers.

Although it is an object of admiration and even affection amongst locals,
Mount Rainier is considered the most dangerous volcano in the range. In
fact, Mount Rainier has the status of being one of sixteen volcanoes
worldwide to be designated a "Decade Volcano" in a United Nations program
aimed at better utilizing science and emergency management to reduce the
severity of natural disasters.

An eruption could affect the large nearby population, sending Rainier's
huge volume of ice, snow and earth into the area. Rainier also presents the
hazard of avalanches and debris flows during its inactive period. A mudflow
caused by steam explosions about 5,700 years ago was one of the largest
known in the world. This eruption reduced the height of Rainier by over
1,500 feet and sent a wall of mud 100 feet high, cascading like a river of
wet cement as far as the waters of Puget Sound. The towns of Auburn, Kent,
Puyallup and Sumner are built on top of this flow. About 30 earthquakes
occur under Mount Rainier per year, making it the most seismically active
volcano in the Cascade Range after
Mount St. Helens.

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Mt.
Rainier: Adventures and Views by John Harlin III and James Martin. Get
up close and personal with the of Mount Rainier. Photographer James Martin
captures the awesome beauty of this majestic peak, from its icy glaciers to
its lush alpine meadows, while climber and writer John Harlin provides
engrossing accounts of adventure on the mountain.
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Mount
Rainier: A Climbing Guide 2nd Edition by Mike Gauthier. From the Lead
Climbing Ranger for Mt Rainier National Park. The latest information on
logistics, regulations and permits. Expanded material on understanding and
surmounting Rainier's glaciers, tips on selecting a guide service,
mountaineering training sites around Rainier and bonus routes on adjacent
Little Tahoma.
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